My wife and I were praying for the families of those killed in yesterday’s mass shooting. Normally I lead us in prayer, but I asked her to pray. Midway in the prayer she could hardly continue. She was praying for the families and she began sobbing and weeping. She felt so much anguish for the parents of the children who were lost in that tragedy she could barely continue.

I thought about how sad it is that so many people in our country have become so desensitized to tragedy, death, and violence. We hear of a mass shooting, or someone murdering dozens of people by running them down with a truck, but too often we don’t feel the pain of those involved at a personal level.

It reminds me of how I used to be when I lived on the streets. One day when I was a homeless drifter I was walking through a very dangerous area in Greenwich Village NYC.
I came upon an old man who was wearing tattered clothes lying on the sidewalk on his back dead. The image of blank expressionless eyes staring away at nothing remains with me today. I assume he had frozen to death as it was brutally cold the previous night.

I just stepped over the body and kept on walking. Life didn’t mean all that much at that time of my life. People die all the time on the streets. Some OD, some are murdered, a few commit suicide, and of course many die from natural causes. The odd thing is that hardly anyone pays much attention including the police and the ambulance drivers who pick them up. I believe many in our country are fast approaching a level of desensitized indifference and life is no longer sacred or cherished.

Imagine how the parents feel when their child is suddenly murdered and how painful it will be to make funeral arrangements including picking out a casket, choosing the clothes they will wear, selecting the music that will be played, viewing their loved ones in a casket, and going in their bedroom and seeing all those things that were special to them. And then they must face all those who will come to offer their condolences and mourn.

The hardest thing of all will be to realize that their little boy or girl won’t be coming home ever again.

I believe that Satan is trying his utmost to destroy our children. Unborn children are being murdered by the millions, child rape is an epidemic and growing worse daily, the family is under attack with people promoting gay marriage, becoming transgender, communist teachers brainwashing them against common decency, and of course mass murders at schools.

Where does it come from?

From the pit of hell.

One would think that a normal society would be grief-stricken, but all too often a shake of the head and muttering that is terrible is the extent of it. In a few days the media will be back to bashing Trump about some comment he tweeted, and the children will continue to suffer.

I was having dinner with a couple the other night and they asked about the anti-Child Rape project currently being worked on in the Jesus Alliance. I began explaining the basics of what happens and how innocent children 3-4 years old are repeatedly tortured, raped, and sodomized by old men and as I began graphically explaining how these children suffer and die, my friend held up his hands and politely said:

STOP! It’s too upsetting.

I’ve had similar reactions when pointing out how abortionists rip the limbs off babies one leg and arm at a time with a pair of forceps and how it has been medically proven that these children feel pain.

STOP! It’s too upsetting.

Or how some crazed gunman shoots a beautiful little boy or girl in the head.

STOP! It’s too upsetting

STOP HELL!!!

We need to have this discussion! A friend of mine has an anti-sex trafficking ministry called Enough is Enough. That’s where I am. Enough is Enough! We need to empathize, weep, and anguish over our children and then act in demanding that our government, police, prosecutors, and judges protect our children. We should demand that laws be enforced against the perverts that rape innocent children, laws be changed to protect innocent babies.

The Jesus Alliance was created to unite Christians all over the world to speak with one voice to make the world a better place. If you know of a way to create awareness without talking about the brutal facts surrounding what is really going on in this demonic war against our children, please write to me and offer some suggestions.

Jesus loves children and entrusts us to protect them. Woe to us if we as a nation refuse to protect them . . .

Matt. 19:14

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

Another mass school shooting, this time in my home state has everyone talking. Democrats want gun control; gun advocates point to states with the most restrictive gun laws anywhere that have the most gun violence. Others claim we need more mental health services and then there are those who advocate monitoring social media, banning movies, television shows, and video games of violence.

What in the world can we do to end the madness?

The answer is not in some magical fix generated by our government. I believe that it lies within finding that elusive cure for our deadly culture. If guns aren’t used, bombs, knives, trucks, planes, fire, or other items will be substituted to commit mass murder.

Families all over America are terrorized as we grieve those innocent children who lost their short lives to yet another mass murderer. Everyone wants to blame someone or something. Surprisingly no one I’ve seen is talking about the actual root of the problem.

In our society life is no longer perceived as being sacred as the Lord intended; it is portrayed as being cheap. This is not limited to a few nuts holed away simmering somewhere. We see the hatred displayed in the media daily. We see Hollywood stars openly suggesting that they would like to see our President assassinated and even depict holding his severed bloody head. Christians are singled out as a hate group of all things and there are those who want them gone from society.

Many within our society show no empathy, conscience, love, remorse, and are filled with hate. These are the classic symptoms of a sociopath! Society has in fact become
de facto sociopathic in nature.

What is the cure for a sociopath? Psychiatrists and psychologists will tell you that there is not one, and that it is incurable. I know that first-hand because as a young man, I was diagnosed as being a sociopath. After meeting with a team of psychiatrists for several hours the head psychiatrist called me into his office the next day and told me that I didn’t have a conscience, could not show remorse, was incapable of love, and if he had to guess would become a serial killer. When I asked what could be done about it, his reply was, “Nothing, it is incurable and that is why I’m recommending that you be discharged from the armed services.”

And yet I was cured when I became a follower of Jesus Christ. I do have a conscience,
I do feel remorse, I don’t hate, and I do love. Decades later I’m a family man and am now a respected member of society and 100% dedicated to following Jesus and His teachings and trying to make the world a better place. I became a serial entrepreneur and not a serial killer.

My friends I have learned that nothing is incurable for our God who is the great physician. We need revival and we need non-stop prayer in this country. As you pray f
or those lost to a madman pray also for revival and an end to the hatred that permeates the world.

Thus, the answer to our dilemma is to follow Jesus and not the world. The Bible is clear that apart from God it is impossible to find peace, joy, and love. Those who long for an end to senseless shootings, bombings, and madmen running over crowds of people in trucks, severing heads with knives, and flying planes into buildings need to understand that there is but one way to put an end to it; our society must come to Jesus. Otherwise expect more of the same regardless of any law passed now or in the future.

There are those who will say that means the satanic sickness that has a hold over the United States and indeed the world is incurable, but speaking as one who has experienced the miracle of God in transforming one’s life I offer the Scripture below.

Matt. 19:26

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

I was running late for an important meeting one morning due to my having lost track of time while spending an inordinate amount of time trying to catch up on a boatload of e-mail that came in while out of town.

I hate to be late, (it’s rude), and I’m obsessive about arriving early for appointments, especially if it’s a vitally important meeting. I rushed like a madman to get there and was completely out of breath and not in all that good of a mood and feeling harried when I hastily took my seat.

I’d just barely settled in when suddenly Tom started yelling at me the top of his lungs. Late or not, he misjudged me badly if he thought I was just going to just sit there and take that junk without responding. I answered him right back, but he yelled again! I tried answering softly this time, but he yelled again – Finally I just said to heck with that and picked up my gun and shot him right in the head and killed him!

Tom is the big two bearded gobbler that I bagged that morning.

Got ya!

Yep turkey season is fast approaching and it’s a really neat way to spend some time. It’s so much fun in fact that I go every day of the season, (unless of course it’s pouring down rain or if I’m out of town speaking). There is something magical about watching the sun come up in the morning and seeing and hearing God’s creatures welcome it with a plethora of chirping birds, raucous crows scolding screaming hawks, and donkeys braying in the distance, but nothing is more exciting than hearing the bone jarring gobble of a big Tom turkey looking for love on a crisp spring morning.

Right after daylight that day I heard no less than five gobblers announcing that they were on the market and ready for love. I answered with my lustiest hen yelp call which told them exactly where I was, and that I too was ready, willing, and able, and it was time to, “Come and get it”.

Moments later my big gobbler arrived, haughtily walking towards me like he was “King of the Road”. He was all puffed up with tail fanned out, strutting and beating his wings on the ground announcing to all the hens within range, “Hey girls look at me, I be stylin’ and profilin.”

I managed a couple more extra sexy, very soft pleading purrs and subdued yelps to stroke that big ego. It worked! He hastily ambled right into range of my Benelli 12 GA. Camo shotgun and KA – BOOM.

I suppose he wanted to be knocked off his feet with a different kind of love than I expressed, but as that great old Rolling Stones song goes, “We can’t always get what
we want”.

So what does all of this have to do with God?

Well for one thing God created the black velvet star studded night that I stared at until it gave way to the beautiful golden sunrise that morning. It was fabulously beautiful that day as its rays illuminated the gorgeous woodlands rendering divine colors that even the most talented artist could recreate. And the warm sun took the chill out of the morning to the point that a couple of times I closed my eyes like an old dog as it beamed down on my tired old body. It felt good.

God also created all those wonderful creatures that I heard and saw, including scampering squirrels, lazily flying herons, a multitude of birds, frogs, and even what sounded like a bellowing gator in the distance.

Why did God create all this splendor? For His enjoyment and ours. The Bible teaches that God is love. My plantation at Honey Lake and all those other drop dead gorgeous places are an expression of God’s love and I love Him and I love this land that He created.

God of course is no single faceted God, and I’ve found that He rarely does anything to achieve a singular purpose. God’s glory emanates from his creation as a testimony to His being. Those ignorant atheists that seem to delight in sending me hate mail should fight off their hangovers one morning and get up at dawn and sit in the woods and watch God bring it to life. They can just leave that joint in their pockets, because God’s glory will supply all the high that they need.

And all the PETA crowd morons can just leave their bunny-hugging whining at the door. God gave us dominion over every seed-bearing plant, fruit, beast of the earth, bird in the sky, and all creatures that move along the ground, and everything that lives. Part of managing wildlife is to harvest and sportsmen perform that extraordinarily well. Game populations far exceed those that were here when this country was founded, and it is because of proper management techniques of providing food, cover, and yes harvesting.

Have a great day today and enjoy God’s beautiful morning and all that he’s created. Quit your complaining and moaning and for crying out loud look around at your free gifts from almighty God. He is great, and He loves us!

Oops, where did the time go? It’s already getting near dawn; don’t want to be late for
my sailfish excursion this morning . . . Don’t worry PETA catch and release only on
sailfish today . . .

Gen. 1:29

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth
and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning . . .

So, the news coming back from our illustrious press corps at the Olympics is not about the wonderful athletes who have trained so hard, its about a homosexual ice skater who hates Mike Pence for being a Christian, and Kim Jong Un’s sister being a sensational beauty who has upstaged the vice president during the event. They ignore the facts that she oversees North Korea’s concentration camps where barbaric torture and starvation are her tools of the trade. And of course, her country is obsessed with obtaining nuclear bombs in order to destroy our freedom loving society.

Human rights, and the security of our country are ignored as they clowns use every opportunity to denigrate the current administration.

This entire press mess drives me up a wall. They relentlessly attack President Trump despite tremendous success particularly in the area of jobs and the economy.
If they cannot find something on a particular day to blame him with, they just make something up.

I have noticed a slow but steady increase in support for Trump and his initiatives as people have begun to realize that he is not crazy, and his ideas are working to restore our military, economy, and founding principles. Could it be that the scales are being lifted off the people’s eyes despite the largest organized propaganda campaign ever devised by power mongers in Washington, Hollywood, and New York?

As Trump moves into positive approval ratings, it must be remembered that there are millions of people who are filled with hate for him and everything he supports. Like him personally or not, the issues he supports include most of the things that those who are reading this believe. The liberals do not want anyone to so much as say anything contrary to their hate-filled ideology. Christians are more often than not the target, because most are not willing to go against the teachings of God in the Bible. The liberals respond with hate that is so venomous that a civil war is not inconceivable.

I watched a video of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address written during our civil war after some 50,000 soldiers died or were wounded. I was amazed at how Lincoln summed up the mission in just a few short sentences.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot
hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

How I long for a country under God and a birth of new freedom with a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Christians worldwide long for such ideals; however, are persecuted more than all other people groups representing 75% of persecution worldwide. Those opposed to Christians don’t want to hear that marriage is heavenly designed and Jesus Himself said it should be between one man and one woman; that all life is sacred including unborn babies; that immoral living is a sin and so forth. Instead, they desire to destroy Christianity and Christians. North Korea, China, Iran, Somalia, Pakistan, and other countries will torture and kill Christians for believing it or merely possessing a Bible; here in the United States people are sued, ridiculed, beaten up, and fired for beliefs right out of the Bible. This could be the beginning of greater persecution.

Censorship and religious persecution is not the liberty, nor the equality that Lincoln stated that brave men had been fighting and losing their lives for. Think about this . . . Lincoln reminded us that the dead on the Gettysburg battlefield couldn’t do anything now. He said: It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

Gal. 5:1

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

I was watching a fishing show on television the other night. I was amazed at the number of commercials and the clever way they try to retain viewers interest. Before each commercial they load up on telling all of the interesting segments that will soon be aired. I try to use this same strategy in the books I write. I try to end each chapter with something that makes the reader turn the page to find out what happened next.

Wouldn’t it be neat if we could do that with our lives: “Coming up footage on marriage to high school sweetheart and move to North Dakota. Details on honeymoon spent in Bahamas fighting 500 LB Blue Marlin on light tackle for four hours!”

But it might not be so rosy: “Coming up, fiancé runs off with carnival worker. Exclusive footage of boat sinking in the Bahamas while Marlin fishing.

Nonetheless we do have a desire to know the future and the good news is that we can! I suppose God had a very good plan in not allowing too many of us to know what will happen in our day to day individual lives. He did, however, give us prophecy galore in His Bible that tells us what will happen in the big picture. Most prophecies were foretold hundreds of years in advance and have already occurred and been fulfilled. Every prophecy that God through His Bible has uttered has been fulfilled except the ones that are yet to come, and they’ll be fulfilled just as surely as the ones that have been fulfilled in the past.

Based upon my study I feel sure that He is winding things down. The prophecy of the Jews returning to their homeland in 1948 after being scattered throughout the world was analogous to lighting the fuse that will ignite the end-times of the world as we know it.

Much of what is to come is dire and uncomfortable to even think about much less dwell on, but it is there for a purpose and we should take note. The world is predicted to get more and more evil right up until the moment God comes back to stop it.

I was reading an article by David Berg and he made many excellent points that we should consider. I’ve edited it for space, but this is a sample: “Most of today’s youth seem to almost instinctively realize that they are living on borrowed time. After all, we are the first generation that has had to live with the knowledge that we could completely destroy ourselves. People want to know what to do about it, or if there is any way to avoid it or prepare for it, to survive it.

You’ll find that God’s Word is specific and clear. Its prophecies tell you exactly who and where and even when. So if you’ve been wondering, “Where did we come from? Where are we going? What’s happening?” this wonderful book, the Bible, tells you all about it, exactly what’s going to happen. You don’t have to worry about it; you don’t have to fear. You don’t have to guess at it. It’s all here just as plain as can be.

What God has determined and prophesied, He’s going to do. Whatever God has said He’s going to do, He is going to do . . . Not one prophecy shall be without fulfillment; every single one shall be fulfilled.

God has given man thousands of years to try to solve his own problems and run the world and bring peace and happiness, and he has brought nothing but war and misery. God has given man his chance and he has done nothing but make a mess of the world. And now, finally, man is able to destroy it. And if God did not step in and intervene in this last hour of history, man could completely destroy it and totally annihilate himself.

Let’s face it, man is destroying himself. He’s killing himself with his pollution and with his destructive nature, and if God doesn’t intervene and stop it, man would eventually wipe himself off the map!

The Bible predicts that in the last days of man-made regimes on earth, a totally godless, anti-Christ world government will arise, led by a Devil-possessed dictator, Satan incarnate, who will bring a temporary false peace on earth and a counterfeit utopia. Its price will be enforced worship of him as the imitation Messiah. All of his subjects will be branded with a credit number in order to buy or sell or obtain food or employment, and all those who refuse to cooperate will be hunted, persecuted, and slaughtered by his commandment. This will be a time of Great Tribulation.

This anti-Christ government of anti-Christ forces under the leadership of the Antichrist himself, this superhuman world dictator of man’s last one-world godless government,
will then set up its headquarters in Jerusalem, his capital, and unite all peoples of the world into a one-world worship of this demon-demagogue and his magical image which can speak.

These startling events will immediately precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
which is the major end-time event, the grand climax, as the Lord Himself returns and wipes out the Antichrist and his followers and sets up the last and most lasting and only perfect government the world has ever known, and “the meek shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:11).

It’s wonderful to be able to read a newspaper that tells you what’s going to happen–not just what’s already happened. Anybody can tell you what’s already happened, but the Bible tells you what’s going to happen. Newspapers are not really newspapers; they’re history papers. They tell you what’s already happened – past news. But God has given us a lot of later news about today, the time in which we’re living right now, and what’s going to happen next. So the Bible is not just a history book, it’s a news book. It not only tells you about yesterday, it also tells you about tomorrow . . .

You don’t have to know the future and all the marvelous details of end-time prophecy. These events will happen whether you know them or not. But it’s a good thing to know and to understand these things so that you’ll be able to know what’s going on and what’s happening, as well as be able to teach and warn others.

All Things Change, but Jesus Never!”

I encourage you once again to read the Bible and enroll in an excellent Bible study. You will enjoy seeing things predicted eons ago actually happening before your eyes. Most of all during these distressing times you can maintain confidence and know peace. The Lord Jesus has those who love and follow Him in His palm and He isn’t about to allow anything to separate you from Him.

Romans 8:39

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yesterday I wrote that Billy Graham was 92, several wrote to tell me he is in fact 100 . . . I stand corrected. So in the 50’s he began questioning that he would live much longer, and yet he has lived another 50 years and is still breathing.

I suspect with all his ailments he has been ready for some length of time to enter heaven, see Jesus, and reunite with Ruth and others that have gone on before him. But knowing his character he accepts his lot in life and does what he can while he can.

I rarely watch television, but lately have been watching the show Moonshiners. It is a hilariously funny reality show about some backwoods characters who make moonshine whiskey for a living.

One of them, Josh, was recounting being shot in the knee with a 9mm pistol, accidentally cutting off one of his fingers, and the myriad of broken bones he has endured during his rough and tumble life.

I can relate, because I’ve had numerous injuries and broken bones too numerous to mention myself. One difference between Josh and I is that I’m much older and arthritis has set in. All of those broken bones and injuries make themselves known to me, especially on cold damp days. I’m so stiff in the mornings that it takes me a while to get going. I feel pain, particularly in my lower back, pretty much all the time. My darned eyesight is the pits, my teeth are bad from drug use, and I’m nearly deaf.

Many family members and friends call me ghoulish and weird when I mention that I look forward to heaven and receiving my new body. Everyone, especially young people seem to want to live forever right up until the days they grow old. The wisest man the world will ever know once lamented growing old in Eccl. 12:1

Remember your Creator

while you are young,

before the days of trouble come

and the years when you say,

“I find no pleasure in them.”

When you get old,

the light from the sun, moon, and stars will grow dark;

the rain clouds will never seem to go away.

At that time your arms will shake

and your legs will become weak.

Your teeth will fall out so you cannot chew,

and your eyes will not see clearly.

Your ears will be deaf to the noise in the streets,

and you will barely hear the millstone grinding grain.

You’ll wake up when a bird starts singing,

but you will barely hear singing.

You will fear high places

and will be afraid to go for a walk.

Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree.

You will limp along like a grasshopper when you walk.

Your appetite will be gone.

Then you will go to your everlasting home,

and people will go to your funeral.

Soon your life will snap like a silver chain

or break like a golden bowl.

You will be like a broken pitcher at a spring,

or a broken wheel at a well.

You will turn back into the dust of the earth again,

but your spirit will return to God who gave it.

Hmmm . . . He was depressed the day he wrote this eh?

I love being around younger people; I enjoy their energy. I don’t have that same energy, but I have zeal for life. My body reminds me of my old car I used to own, a 56 Chevy. In its day everyone wanted one. Today a red Tesla has been launched into outer space and is headed towards Mars and I assume most of the young people would dearly love to have one of those, but that old 56 Chevy is still a classic to me. I listen to 60’s music while today the young folks listen to Rap. I don’t think it’s a coincidence Rap rhymes with crap, and it’s not for me . . . Being young isn’t the end-all answer to happiness.

I love serving the Lord and am passionate about it. I’m passionate about hunting and fishing, in fact I’m going sword fishing today. I can’t do it like I used to, but I can still have some fun. If you are getting older, I have some good advice for you that was given to me by my cousin who has 10 years on me. He said the older one gets the more aches and pains develop. If you go to the doctor every time you hurt you will be there all the time. He recommended that you stay out of doctor’s offices as much as possible and just grin and bear it and keep moving.

He is working his big cattle ranch pretty much by himself and still enjoying life. Bravo!

I still look forward to the day the Lord calls me home and gives me a brand-new body that is flawless. I do look forward to heaven with great anticipation, but like old Billy Graham I want to serve Him as long as He allows.

The important thing is not how long we live, but how well we serve the Lord the days we are allowed . . .

Eccl. 6:6

He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else – well, what’s the use?

I was listening to an interview of congressman Trey Gowdy as he explained why he is not going to run for re-election. I’ve always admired him as a fair-minded voice in the midst of an ideological-driven-political-hate-storm.

He was asked by Martha MacCallum why he was leaving, and he said that he was at a point where he estimated that 2/3’s of his life had passed, and he wanted to spend the remaining 1/3 doing what he liked. He wants to spend more time with his wife and kids who are in college and his parents who are still living and working somewhere in the court system that he loves.

A book came out several years ago entitled The Second Half, and it suggests taking a similar path to those folks who are approaching the second half of their life. Many of my friends have read this book and have either changed careers or begun to make serious adjustments to their lifestyle in order to achieve what they consider to be the most important things they wish to accomplish prior to time running out.

As I examined my own life I grabbed a calculator and quickly determined what percentage, (actuarily speaking), I had already burned through in my own life.

Egad!

I was rather startled when I looked at the calculator and it coldly declared that I’d already burned through 88% of my life according to the average life expectancy. I quickly reflected about the old cliché, “There is so much to do and so little time in which to do it.”

Then I thought about Reverend Billy Graham a couple of decades ago when he fielded this question from a university student, “What is the greatest surprise you have found about life?” – He answered without hesitation “The brevity of it.”

In his autobiography, Just as I Am, he recalled the exchange with the following note:“As I have been working on this book, many of the things I have recounted seem as if they happened only yesterday. Time moves so quickly, and no matter who we are or what we have done, the time will come when our lives will be over.

Then he added a poignant thought: “As Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).

There are no guarantees of how long any of us will live to include everyone on this planet. So-o-o we must make haste in doing what needs to be done.

I met with a young man yesterday who was very young. He could in fact have been my grandson. He was establishing his own business and came to my home to seek me out for advice. He asked me about setting goals for his business. I advised him that life was much shorter than he could imagine particularly at such a young age but that he should pray and seek God’s purpose for his life. Part of my advice was to warn him about solely pursuing money as his only objective and to make pleasing God his most important goal.

In Matthew 6:34 the Bible states, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness . . . I can’t go back in time and change anything, but I can spend each new day I’m blessed with trying to focus on seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness for whatever time I have left.

At the time Billy Graham wrote this piece in his autobiography, his wife Ruth’s health was failing and she was an invalid, and he was in poor health with Parkinson Disease and other ailments and I feel sure he thought his days were surely numbered. I know his family felt that way because one thing on my bucket list has always been to meet and pray with him one on one. Founder of Chic Filet, Truett Cathy, once graciously offered to allow me to fly with his family on their private jet for a visit to see him to fulfill this goal, but Dr. Graham’s family wouldn’t allow the visit because he was in such poor health.

Billy Graham is still alive today! Interestingly in the 50’s he told reporters he doubted he would live too many more years, and then in the sixties he said the same thing. He was 88 when he wrote his autobiography and today is 92. Who knows at this rate he might outlive us all . . .

I wish I would have always followed the same advice I gave the young man. My biggest regret in life is that I wasted so much of it. If only I could go back and relive those days when my energy was high, and I was determined to build a worldly empire and instead work towards building God’s heavenly empire.

Unfortunately that is not an option; however I can live TODAY serving the Lord as best I know how, despite whatever trouble may be lurking out there today. And if I am granted a tomorrow, I will repeat my effort.

Matt 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

Money and all the wonderful material things it can buy? Power? Sex? Fame? Wisdom?

What if you had plenty of money and could buy anything you wanted, you were powerful and could control others to obey your slightest whim, sex was available with a ready-and-willing-drop-dead-gorgeous partner of your choice 24/7, you were so famous that people from all over the world adulated you so much that they would go to any length to come to see you, and you were so smart and wise that you knew more than anyone in the world about any subject?

One would think that whomever possessed all those things would be the happiest person on the planet, and yet there are people who have experienced all or most of those things and yet somehow sustainable happiness eluded them.

So, do you want an example?

Of course you do.

Okay, how about King Solomon. He was the richest person on all of earth, a powerful king whose rule was absolute, he had all the sex he could handle with 700 wives and 300 concubines awaiting his beck and call, he was famous all over the world and even the Queen of Sheba traveled from afar to sit at his feet to listen to his infinite wisdom.

And yet even a cursory read of his life odyssey, Ecclesiastes, would reveal that none of those things could fulfill what he needed most. He felt life was monotonous, wisdom was vanity, wealth was futile, and death was certain.

“Vanity of vanities,” lamented Solomon, “all is vanity!” This word “vanity” means “emptiness,” “futility,” “vapor”; “that which vanishes quickly and leaves nothing behind.” Solomon used the word “vanity” 38 times in Ecclesiastes as he wrote about life “under
the sun.”

Elvis Presley at one time was king of rock and roll which had him rocking and rolling in cash, in bed, and buying anything he desired including mansions, jets, pink Cadillac’s, gaudy clothing and jewelry. So many beautiful women wanted to have sex with him, if he got in the mood, he would call downstairs and tell his bodyguard to “send one up”. Dozens would be hanging around for just such an opportunity and would leap for joy at being allowed into his bedroom.

Elvis once said he was the loneliest person on the planet, even though he was constantly surrounded by adoring fans and a huge entourage. Elvis began turning to drugs and alcohol which ultimately ended his misery. He met the same fate as many others such as Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin. Today Steve Wynn in Las Vegas was just forced out of his the role of Chairman/CEO from the company that bears his name. The same thing happened to Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer. Their money, power, fame, sex, etc., means nothing. Vanity!

Ugh – I think I made my point. There is nothing attainable on earth that can fulfill the needs of humankind. Why? Because this world and everything in it falls under the rule of Lucifer. This was verified when Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert. He was weak from fasting for forty days when Satan approached Him and began tempting Him. Matthew 4:8: Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”

All the glory of this world belongs to Satan; he is the “prince of this world.” Is it any small wonder that what he has to offer will not fulfill our needs?

Jesus answered him in verse 10: “Away from me, Satan! Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve” Him only.’ Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him . . .

God made us all different and yet the same. We long to have peace, joy, and love in our lives and those only come from our relationship with God.

Going back to King Solomon and Ecclesiastes for a moment, from the human point of view, life does often appear futile; and it’s easy for us to get cynical. But we should not mistake reality with cynicism. Instead, he advises us to trust God and enjoy what we do haverather than complain about what we don’t have.

I read an article about this by Chuck Missler. He stated, “Solomon said nothing is really changed, nothing is really new, and nothing is understood. Solomon saw injustice to the poor, crooked politics, incompetent leaders, guilty people allowed to commit more crimes, materialism, and a desire for “the good old days.” How about that argument for the Bible being just as relevant today as it was when written approximately 930 BC?

After experimenting and investigating “life under the sun”, Solomon initially concluded, “No, life is not worth living!” And he gave four arguments to support his conclusion: the monotony of life, the vanity of wisdom, the futility of wealth, and the certainty of death.

But Solomon was also the wisest man in the entire world. In Chapters 3 to 10, he reviewed his arguments and this time brought God into the picture. What a difference it made! By reexamining each of these conclusions more carefully he realized that life was not monotonous but filled with challenging situations from God, each in its own time and each for its own purpose. He also learned that wealth could be enjoyed and employed to the glory of God. And though man’s wisdom couldn’t explain everything, Solomon concluded that it was better to follow God’s wisdom than to practice man’s folly. (Another reason to study the Bible daily!)

And finally as for the certainty of death issue, it is true that there is no way to escape death; but it should motivate all of us to enjoy life now and make the most of the opportunities God gives us. I would add that we also should look ahead to eternity in heaven and all its splendor and serve God as best we know how.

So today as you pursue your life’s ambitions, please keep in mind what will bring true fulfillment to your life . . . Look to Him, look within, and look at His purpose for your
life . . . The rest is all vanity.

1 John 2:15

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

I spoke to a recovering meth addict at a church service the other day and she’d only been drug free for a year. She was deathly afraid she would return to the drug and that it was only a matter of time when something would set her off and she would end right back where she started.

I told her that she could avoid it through faith and that according to the Bible faith comes from hearing the word of God, (the Bible). I told her she needed to put on the full armor of God; she should pray throughout the day and night and especially when the cravings came to her; she should study her Bible daily; and attend a good church that will accept her like Jesus would and have fellowship with other Christians. I said that it was true that Satan wants to destroy her, but Jesus wants to save her and will continue to do so if she believes and thus will enable Him to help her.

God is doing a wonderful thing in her life. When looking at it to date, not many wonderful things have ever happened to her. In fact, she has been abused and has had a tough time of things. She is on the right track, but faltering in her faith that God will see her through the rest of the storm. She needs to understand that God has a plan for her life and it is a good one. He will not go this far with her and then drop her like a hot rock. God has this, and she needs to trust him.

Alas it is easier to say than do, eh? Have you ever wanted God to do something wonderful in your life and yet you disbelieved? Zacharias was the father of John the Baptist. He and his wife wanted children but could not conceive and had grown old. The powerful angel Gabriel came to Zacharias and told him his wife would conceive a child and he was to name him John.

Zacharias scoffed at the angel and said it was impossible because he had grown too old to have children as had his wife. Because of his disbelief he was stricken with silence, unable to speak until the child was born. True to the angel’s prophecy shortly after John the Baptist was born he was able to speak once again.

So why would God include this information in His Bible? I believe He wanted to demonstrate that nothing is impossible when God is involved, and we are not to question His revelations to us and have faith that He will deliver. Failure to believe in Him has its consequences.

So, you might say, well Gabriel has never appeared to me, but I would counter that. Gabriel and a host of other angels and prophets have all appeared to you, provided you have read and studied the Bible. God has said that all things work out for the good of those who love Him. We should believe this.

I’ve been trying to sell some beautiful property that I own for quite some time now. I have good kingdom related plans for a large portion of the money, but no buyers have made a move. With the passing of such a long period of time, it becomes easy to become discouraged, and difficult to relax and know that God has this. I know that He has heard my constant daily/nightly requests that He would inspire a buyer to purchase it, but nothing. Should I give up or keep trusting?

Duhhh . . .

Some of you might like to see me struck with silence for my lack of faith like old Zacharias, but I assure you that admittedly I’m impatient, but I haven’t lost faith. So, don’t get your hopes up that I’ll shut up. I will do all I can personally do to assist with the process and know and have faith that God has heard my plea and will, (at a time of His choosing), bless me with the sale of this property.

Keep the faith my friends – All things are possible with God. I guess we should just shut up and listen and keep the faith . . .

Matt. 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Yesterday I spoke at Tabernacle Church in Sarasota. The auditorium was filled to capacity as I delivered my personal testimony as I’ve done countless times before. After the service numerous people came up to me including four people that were fighting addiction to meth. They thanked me profusely and told me they were greatly encouraged that if I could beat my addictions, then surely, they could as well.

I replied that it would not have been possible without Jesus. I went on to tell them my story is not about me, rather it’s about the power of God to transform anyone’s life.

Some twenty or thirty years ago I spoke at a fund raiser for homeless kids conducted by Covenant House in Atlanta Georgia. Afterwards this wonderful elderly black lady came up and hugged me and planted a big wet kiss on my cheek and exclaimed,

“You used to be a big old ugly caterpillar and now the Lord Jesus has done turned you into a beautiful butterfly. Praise God!”

I laughed and thanked her for perhaps the best compliment that I’ve ever received.

I was asked recently if I enjoyed giving my testimony. I replied that I am always ashamed of exposing what I did in my misspent youth, and it is difficult to recount it, but the rewards of seeing people come to follow Christ outweigh any shame I might feel. Many people are encouraged by it and undoubtedly that is why God has allowed me a platform to let people know that there is always hope in Jesus Christ and miracles do still occur.

Too often people are discouraged and deceived by Satan and become convinced that all the good things happen to someone else but never to them. They lose hope and are defeated by their own words.

I believe that it is up to us as followers of Christ to boldly speak up about Christ and what He has done in our lives. Person after person came up to me after the service Sunday to tell me of mistakes that they made that were forgiven by God and how He is now leading them down a wonderful path.

in which now Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson was asked:

“How do you explain this, that nine years ago you’re coaching in high school and here you are with this trophy?”

Pederson replied, “I can only give the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity and I’m going to tell you something: I’ve got the best players in the world.”

What a platform. He unashamedly gave Jesus the credit in front of maybe a hundred million people. How encouraging to all those high school coaches out there. Bravo!

Put Jesus first in your life today and experience the blessings that can only come from Him. Peace, Joy, and Love… And then tell everyone you can at every opportunity… You don’t need a big audience or a platform that spans the globe. ANYONE can tell their family members, friends, workplace peers, or even strangers in a restaurant, or on an airplane, or at a soccer game.

As that beautiful song tells us:

Go, Tell It On The Mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, Tell It On The Mountain, That Jesus Christ is born.

Romans 10:14

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

I’ve been re-reading the Bible yet again and I find it just as fascinating as the days I first read it. When I decide to read the Bible in its entirety I always begin by reading the book of Romans and then to Matthew and on through the New Testament to Revelation, then I read the Old Testament in its entirety, and keep reading through the New Testament again.

I take my time, underlining meaningful Scripture and stopping to reflect about certain verses and try to envision God deciding what to include. Sometimes I wonder why He felt it important enough to include a particular passage for all of mankind to see.

I’m often asked which version I read. I read them all, but this time I’m reading the Living Bible, the one that is paraphrased. I’ve read many different versions of the Bible, the King James, New King James, International version, translated Living Bible, American Standard and on and on. I learn from them all except for the Message which I think is pretty much garbage.

I urge you to read the Bible in its entirety. It is in fact God’s primary and almost exclusive way of directly communicating with us. It is amazing to read it and feel the Holy Spirit opening awesome wisdom to us. I wonder sometimes why people don’t take the time to read it. Does anyone really think they are too busy to learn from Almighty God? Or is it apathy?

This is not a book, but the word of God. I never tire of reading the Bible. I can’t imagine reading ordinary books multiple times and studying them daily for nearly five decades. I can honestly say that I have never had a question that could not be answered by researching the Bible, and/or a problem that could not be solved through its wisdom.

If you are not already on that journey, I urge you to begin today. Don’t be in a hurry as you go through its pages. There is no deadline that must be met. Just soak up God’s magnificence, relax, read, and reflect. Enjoy your special time with the Lord and ask Him to provide you with the knowledge that you need on any given day, be it sad or happy.

We all have a purpose in life. What’s yours? Let the Bible direct you . . .

Psalm 119:105

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”.

Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday. If you’re in the vicinity visit the Tabernacle Church in Sarasota where I will be offering my personal testimony. I think the service begins at 10:15 . . .

So, polls indicate that 75% of people who watched the State of the Union address by President Trump liked it, and it was all some of our biased news outlets could do to report these poll results. Of course, they have since recovered from their initial shock enough to begin spinning it to try and get us to believe that their own polls were somehow misleading, and they are quick to report that President Trump’s favorability rating is not so good. (Oddly they never seem to mention that Congress has a favorable rating of just 7% and theirs is right there with them – LOL)

The most poignant moment I recall from the address was when Trump mentioned that African American unemployment has now reached its lowest point EVER in this country. One would think that the black caucus would be jumping for joy, whooping it up, celebrating and praising God, but instead they sat stoic and glumly unsmiling with what appeared to me to be pure hatred on their faces.

To put it mildly Hispanic advocate Illinois Democratic Representative Luis Gutiérrez wasn’t too impressed with President Trump’s declaration of being willing to work with Democrats to find a fair compromise to deal with the illegal immigrants commonly referred to as dreamers. Then when members started chanting USA – USA, he walked out. Guess he’s not much of a fan of the USA vs. illegal immigrants huh?

The Democrats refused to stand even to honor the little 11-year old boy, Preston Sharp, who organized placing flags and flowers at the graves of Northern Californian veterans since 2015. They refused to honor a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who lost both his legs and eyesight in Iraq in 2007; a fire prevention technician who saved 62 people including children, when a Southern California wildfire encircled their camp in July; four parents whose children were killed by gang members; a police officer who adopted a child from opioid-addicted parents; first-time homeowners and small-business owners who offered employees larger holiday bonuses due to a package of tax cuts signed by Trump; the founder of a non-profit group that engages in rescue efforts, including one in response to the Hurricane Harvey flooding, and an Army staff sergeant who aided a team member wounded in November by an improvised bomb, saving his life.

Democrats just stared straight ahead with looks of disgust on their faces as each was introduced. What’s up with this disrespect for these American heroes? Aren’t they worthy of a standing ovation? Why wouldn’t the black caucus give a rousing ovation at the news of record employment for their black constituents? Our economy is the best its been in years, shouldn’t this be wonderful news that we all enjoy? Shouldn’t we praise a kid for taking the initiative to honor our brave soldiers?

Obviously, it is because they don’t want any American to think things are improving, because that might deter their ability to regain POWER. It’s about them and not the country. They don’t want to work together, because to do so would mean that if it resulted in positive things happening, they mistakenly believe that it will hurt their chances of being re-elected.

I believe just the opposite would happen. We want them to work together for the good of the country, and if they did so we would vote for them.

Yesterday an earnest young man called me who has turned his life around. I won’t detail all the salacious junk he lived through, but he made some bad mistakes, found God, repented, and became a warrior for Christ. He told me he spoke at a church and some folks got up and walked out when he began recounting his testimony. He was heart-broken.

I laughed heartily and told him I’ve had that happen plenty of times and to just shake the dust off his feet.

It makes one wonder how these hypocrites treat those who have not accepted Christ and turned their life around? I suspect they drive away more people from Christ than most any demon in hell.

Shouldn’t they be whooping it up over the mighty work God has done in this young man? Doesn’t his recounting it give hope to those who have lost hope? Since every Christian is charged with preaching the Gospel and making disciples, shouldn’t they be thanking this young man for standing up for Christ and saying, “Hey look what Christ did for me, I once was lost but now am found?” Do they think that showing their disdain for someone who is trying to reach others for Christ will glorify God?

Rather than celebrate with the angels in heaven when one sinner repents, they condemn this kid because he made some mistakes in life. Yeah – Like they’ve never made a mistake! Ugh!

Jesus wants us to be happy and encourage and not surprisingly many Christians do exactly that. Those who don’t follow the teachings of Christ, (including those who attend church every Sunday and those who never attend church), seem to be the ones who don’t understand this simple logic. They are blinded and far from God.

And consequently, they are left with scowls on their faces and they want to weep even when wonderful news is being reported. How miserable their lives must be.

The verse below mentions our brothers – the Bible teaches we are all brothers. We may not understand them or appreciate everything they say or do or have said or done in life, but we are directed to love them and not hate them . . .

1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

I have a good friend, Kelly Kullberg, who wrote the book Finding God at Harvard, and founded the highly respected Veritas Forum, an apologetics venue for Ivy league schools that invites students and faculty to ask life’s hardest questions. Their stated purpose is as follows: With a commitment to courageous discourse we put the historic Christian faith in dialogue with other beliefs and invite participants from all backgrounds to pursue Truth together.

All over America Godly spirit filled people like Ravi Zacharias debate atheists and various other non-Christians at colleges and universities like Harvard, Yale, and even Berkeley. When she initially founded the Forum, it was not met with enthusiasm, but since has grown to become a major force in positively influencing some of our brightest students and faculty.

Once it was firmly established, Kelly moved on to researching and identifying how the radical progressive left, led by billionaire George Soros, is systematically destroying our culture. She and her team have researched this problem for years and documented how this war against Christ and His followers is being waged in the seven cultural spheres or mountains of government, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, the family, and the church. You heard right, even the church! Several years ago, Kelly warned me that the church was being infiltrated by Soros paid people like Jim Wallis and others whose job was to divide. Since that time, they have made unprecedented gains in the acceptance of gay marriage, abortion, and teaching that the Bible is not the inerrant word of God and changes with society. Thus, I was not surprised this morning to read of so-called clergy blessing a late term abortion clinic.

The lead in for the article reads: A group of clergy joined together to “bless” and declare “holy” a new abortion clinic that performs third trimester abortions and is run by notorious abortionist LeRoy Carhart.

What Soros and his paid stooges rely on is for people to just keep their mouths shut about things like this. I read another interesting article about Mel Gibson’s pending sequel to The Passion of the Christ. In part the article read:

Jim Caviezel, who stunned the world with his portrayal of Jesus in the 2004 blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ,” is now confirming he’s on board with director Mel Gibson for a sequel and predicts it will be “the biggest film in history.”

Earlier this month in Chicago, Caviezel warned against false Christianity, and urged believers to publicly voice their faith in “this pagan world.”

“I want you to go out into this pagan world, I want you to have the courage to step into this pagan world and shamelessly express your faith in public. The world needs proud warriors animated by their faith,”

“Warriors like Saint Paul and Saint Luke who risked their names, their reputations to take their faith, their love for Jesus into the world.

“God is calling each one of us, each one of you to do great things but how often we fail to respond, dismissing it as some mental blurp. It’s time for our generation, now, to accept that call, the call of God urging all of us to give ourselves entirely to Him.”

“Set yourselves apart from this corrupt generation,” the actor continued. “Be saints. You weren’t made to fit in. You were born to stand out.”

“We must shake off this indifference, this destructive tolerance of evil. But only our faith and the wisdom of Christ can save us,” he said. “But it requires warriors, ready to risk their reputations, their names, even our very lives, to stand for the truth.”

“By God, we must live,” Caviezel concluded, “and with the Holy Spirit as your shield and Christ as your sword, may you join St. Michael and all the angels in sending Lucifer and his henchmen straight right back to hell where they belong!”

Wow! This is one Hollywood actor who is not afraid to speak his mind. I urge you to speak up too. Don’t sit it out. I’m not asking you to do anything I don’t do myself. I’ll be offering my personal testimony at Tabernacle Church in Sarasota Florida this coming Sunday morning. So maybe you aren’t ready to speak before a large church, but I assure you there is no better time to speak about Jesus to your family, friends, peers, and people you meet along the way in your journey. Be a warrior for Christ. Anyone and everyone can and should be a part of this. Speak up for Christ and speak out against those who oppose Him.

Zech. 10:5

They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the LORD is with them as they fight . . .

I was disgusted to see that the Senate could not end a Democrat led filibuster yesterday for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act resulting in it failing to advance with a vote of 51-46 – short of the 60 vote majority threshold needed to move the legislation forward.

Tens of millions of unborn babies are deliberately aborted each year – a number that exceeds the population of many countries. If that isn’t bad enough, they demand it be done even in very late pregnancies whereby the baby can feel pain.

I was recently a part of a group of pro-life supporters who went to visit with the most senior leaders in the Whitehouse and then on to Capitol Hill for more meetings with top house and senate leaders to encourage them to make every effort to see that this bill passed. It did pass the House, but as with any pro-life initiative, the Senate Democrats shut it down.

In retrospect that visit was pretty much a waste of time, because everyone with whom we met already supported the legislation. Those Democrats and a couple of RINO’s, who consider it sacred to kill babies in the womb, pain or no pain, wouldn’t even talk with us.

It is disgusting that this barbaric practice is supported by anyone. For those who do not know, it has been scientifically proven that a child in the womb can feel pain as it is ripped apart by an abortionist at 20 weeks and beyond. The vote by the Senate rejects established scientific fact and puts the United States in a minority of nations, in which only seven out of 198 nations,including China and North Korea, allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Had it passed Trump would have quickly signed it into law. He stated, “We must defend those who cannot defend themselves. I urge the Senate to reconsider its decision and pass legislation that will celebrate, cherish, and protect life. Under my administration, we will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life,” he said.

So, thanks to all of you liberal secular representatives and those who elected you. As a result, more babies will now be torn apart by abortionist’s forceps. What a shame that those senators and representatives and those whose votes support this horrible practice can’t hear the screams of pain of these poor children. They have been silenced in the womb and I suppose that God is the only One listening.

Lord I pray for forgiveness for this nation that elects callous, heartless, people who support killing unborn babies. Please open their ears to those screams of agony every day and night until it becomes unbearable. Enable those elected and the voters who put them in office to understand how they are complicit in this horrendous crime against You and the innocent babies that You wonderfully made. Change their hearts to repent and be contrite and remorseful for what they have done. Amen . . .

Psalm 139:13

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

I sadly shake my head most mornings as I read vile attack after attack on most anything the Bible declares to be righteous. It’s an oxymoron really. Social and morality declines aside, our country has entered an era of prosperity after years of economic devastation. People are working again, including record numbers of minorities such as blacks and Hispanics, ISIS has been wiped out in Syria, illegal immigration is down, welfare rolls are being significantly reduced, and America is becoming energy independent, and so on.

Logic dictates that we should be thankful, but the illogical rage continues. Rational people would seemingly applaud our improving situation, but no, the hate seems to be intensifying.

I was reading the Bible this morning in Mark chapter 13. Jesus had a lengthy response to some of His disciples asking about His return, and He described a scene that is bone chilling of how brothers would betray each other to death, fathers will betray children and vice versa and He stated, “and everyone will hate you because you are Mine.”

I hope you don’t think this prophecy isn’t being fulfilled today. Think again, the number one persecuted people group in the world today is Christians. Here in the United States, anti-Christian sentiment is at an all-time high.

Jesus said something that that is quite profound in this chapter. First, He warns that it will worsen, stating that His followers will be dragged before the courts and beaten in synagogues and churches and accused before governors and kings of being His followers. This is happening in many countries all over the world right now.

Then He says something incredible:

“This is your OPPORTUNITY to tell them the Good News. And the Good News must first be made known in every nation before the end of time finally comes.”

So as we are being beaten, and killed as martyrs, Jesus said it provides an opportunity for us to witness to the lost. He tells us when we are arrested and stand trial that we are not to worry about what to say, that those words will be given us by the Holy Spirit.

As I observe Christians who are reluctant to speak out against what our society is becoming, I wonder how in the world they will tell anyone about the Good News when things really get bad and begin to deteriorate, and they face persecution as described by Jesus.

There is yet time. I urge you not to be a CINO – Christian in name only – We all have opportunities to tell others about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Remaining silent when we have our opportunity spells out the depth of our faith and sets those who are too ashamed to declare the Gospel up for discipline and punishment.

It is not that difficult to tell someone about the love of Jesus. I can tell you from many years of personal experience, telling someone about Jesus is appreciated far more than unappreciated and the more you do it, the more you will enjoy it.

Jesus said in the Gospel of Mark that, “Heaven and earth shall disappear, but my words stand forever.” That means we should listen to Him.

Christ expects men should be earnest in sharing their faith. He hurls His complete disgust at those who are “lukewarm”, neither hot nor cold. He talked about CINO’s in Revelation at length and a severe punishment is threatened. We must be very careful not to cheat our own souls! There are many in hell, who once thought themselves on the way to heaven. Christ lets us know where we might have true riches.

We should pray earnestly for the teaching of His Holy Spirit, to take away our pride, prejudices, and worldly lusts and give us a new focus on telling the Good News and being a faithful witness, no matter what Hollywood or high society might think. Remember always, those made like to Christ in his trials, shall be made like to him in glory.

Rev. 3;18

I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other. So because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of My mouth! You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent . . .

I’m still hearing various people question God, with the age old question as to why a good, loving God would allow bad things to happen to good people. There is one instance in human history that I can think of, whereby I feel sure that no one questioned God about this issue even though the same difficult circumstances that we face today existed.

There were two parents who had a son who was just a great kid, he was obedient and good. He tried to do everything by the book, yet was brutally murdered. If this happened to some of us, we would be devastated with our loss, and in our mourning might ask the question, “why do bad things happen to good people?”; we might even dare to take an extra step and ask, “how could a loving God allow such things to happen?”. These particular parents, however, knew full well why this happened; they knew it was not God who was to blame, but themselves. The boy’s name was Abel and the person who murdered him in a fit of jealousy was his brother Cain; the parents of course were Adam and Eve. The Bible calls Abel righteous, so there is no question that he was good.

I would imagine that as Adam and Eve mourned the loss of their righteous son it was particularly grievous to them. You see it was their fault. There was no death, hatred, evil, or the like until Eve deliberately disobeyed God and convinced Adam to do likewise. They lived in a virtual paradise right up until they disobeyed God. They had been warned by a God who cannot lie, not to disobey His command to not partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning “you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”. They were directly responsible for bringing this curse upon humanity. Here is what God said to Adam after He had sinned against God: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; All the days of your life both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” This curse has been passed on to all of humanity right up to today.

God did not bring death upon the world, mankind did. We were warned in no uncertain terms what the consequence of our actions would be, but did not heed His advice. God has since prepared a way to defeat death, evil, and satan once and for all and allow for our reunification with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. He again is warning in no uncertain terms that those who do not accept Jesus as their savior, that the ramifications of “their” actions, will “surely be” eternal separation from Him in Hell. God’s word is holy! I have no doubt that He will deliver on His promises. He cannot be holy and righteous unless He does tell the truth EVERY time. No one should look up to God from Hell and question why a loving God would allow them to end up in that horrible place. You will be in Hell if you disobey God and reject His only Son, Jesus Christ just exactly as He has warned. Make no mistake about it, without Jesus, you WILL go to Hell, and you will have no one to blame but yourself. You have been duly warned.

God is good – All the time!

______________________

John 3:17For God did not send His Soninto the world to condemn the world,but that the world through Himmight be saved.

Anyone who uses e-mail to any extent and has a boatload of friends will usually have at least one person that will flood their inbox with the silliest junk one can imagine every day. I have such a friend and approximately a year ago I admonished him to quit sending me so much junk e-mail. I told him I had important work to do and I didn’t have time to go through all this junk daily. He was deeply offended and got very angry. He warned me that if I did not respond to him by the next day, he would discontinue corresponding to me.

Hmmm . . . That made me think of the Disney character Uncle Remus telling the story of a rabbit caught by a fox. He asked the fox to do with him whatever he liked but to please don’t throw him into the briar patch. The fox fell for it, and immediately threw the rabbit into the briar patch, (where he lived and the fox couldn’t go) thus enabling him to easily escape.

So, of course, I immediately quit responding to him. True to his threat he stopped sending me anything. It was nice and peaceful for many months until this morning when I opened my email and I saw five junk emails from him.

OMG . . . He’s back!

For some unknown reason he picked up right where he left off. He wrote:

Yea!!!! I’m on a roll . . . I thought I would never send you another E-Mail. I guess I’m on a roll . . . Sue me!

No, no, no . . . this can’t be happening again. It was reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

I sighed heavily and decided to see what he’d sent. To my surprise one of them was actually funny and I’ve included it below:

I guess this just goes to show that one should never assume the worst about anything. When I read this I’d just finished viewing the news on many different websites and was near overwhelmed by the negativity and in a surly mood. I hate to start my day in a surly mood! This brief moment of laughter eased my burden.

I don’t know if this guy unsubscribed from Words for the Day when he got mad or not. If not, I hope my acknowledging this one doesn’t erupt into a volcano of new junk emails . . . I’m skittish that I will launch a firestorm of silliness, but I’m glad he sent this one today.

Old King Solomon, the wisest man the earth will ever know, advised that there is a definite time for laughter. So come on, put a smile on your face this morning. Today is your time to laugh, maybe tomorrow we can weep . . .

Ecclesiastes 3:4

“a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

I never cease to be amazed at the magnificence of God’s creation. I took my boat far out into the Atlantic Ocean the other day in search of sailfish. The day before there were reports of huge numbers of them being caught with many boats successfully landing over 20 in a single day.

We soon discovered that was then, and this was now. We raised two sailfish all day and didn’t land either one of them. They simply weren’t biting, and the captains of the fleet of boats were complaining bitterly over the radio and no one was catching anything. The radio was buzzing with comments stating we should have been there yesterday.

Gag!

As we continued to fish without seeing much of anything, suddenly I saw a fin emerge in front of the boat. Aha! I exclaimed, I see a sailfish. As I looked closer I saw it wasn’t a sailfish, but a porpoise and he wasn’t alone. A huge school of them began swarming around the boat. Swimming along beside us, going under the boat and coming up for air right beside us and comically turning their heads to get a better look at us.

We all walked up to the front of the boat and watched them swim back and forth. As I stood there mulling over the scene I thought about our trip. The fish weren’t biting, but it certainly didn’t ruin our day. The sea was deep blue beautiful, and the smell of saltwater and feeling the ocean breeze and then seeing a huge school of porpoises was well-worth the effort. No one was griping about the pitiful sailfish bite, we were just happy to be alive and enjoying God’s creation.

Today I was watching some videos of the vile women’s protest over the weekend where women were cursing and spitting on reporters. Just this morning I read an article about porn stars that are dying at an alarming rate with 5 or six just in the past couple of weeks. It said they are mainly dying from suicide or drug overdose. I read several articles about the latest DACA political firestorm in Washington; the house of horrors where children were abused; yet another school shooting; and more on our own government agencies such as the FBI, Justice Department, and the CIA trying to undo an election right here in the USA.

I feel sorry for those whose lives are consumed with such hate and bitterness. I think it would really be good if they could hop on a boat and head out at daybreak and see the orange sun slowly begin rising. I would let them sit in the back and see the frothy white wake form a trail across the deep blue ocean. I would point out hungry sea birds diving upon schools of bait as they devour their breakfast. I would hope that such an experience just might remind them that there is a God and He has the whole world and His entire creation in His hands. God is good, and His creation is good, and I am a friend of God. How I wish so many others would join us.

He wants to take away the pain from those who turn to the emptiness of drugs, alcohol, sex, money, power, hate, and the lusts of this world. His world is full of beauty and love and he wants you and me to share in it eternally. No, you won’t always get your way, (or catch fish every time you leave the dock,) but you will see His awesome wonders if you will just clear your mind and look around.

Tell someone about the goodness of God today. So many people lack peace and calm in their lives. He wants us to rest in Him. Only trust Him – Only trust Him now . . .

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I read this morning that Federal Bureau of Investigation officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page discussed in text messages a “secret society” set up within the Justice Department and the FBI after the 2016 election, in the immediate aftermath of [Trump’s] election.

Geez!

That means that powerful folks within the Department of Justice and the FBI, including Page and Strzok, began working against Trump to bring him down right after the election.

Holy Cow!

According to several lawmakers who have seen the hundreds of text messages between Strzok and Page — who were engaged in an extramarital affair — showed that they detested then-candidate Donald Trump, supported Hillary Clinton, and that they feared his election and discussed an “insurance policy” in case he won.

I have often heard of the deep state within our government bureaucracies like the CIA, FBI, and Justice departments, and hoped it was just Internet conspiracy stuff. These texts appear to be the smoking gun.

Could this be the tip of the deep state iceberg?

Another story has recently emerged concerning a four-page memo circulating in Congress that reveals alleged United States government surveillance abuses and is being described by lawmakers as “shocking,” “troubling” and “alarming,” with one congressman likening the details to KGB eavesdropping activity in Russia. Many people are trying to prevent the release, but many are determined to release it in the coming weeks.

Sad!

Wouldn’t you love to live in a country where your government was completely honest and with nothing to hide was completely transparent?

Americans and all of earth’s inhabitants want to trust their government to do the right thing. We desire a corrupt-free society where truth matters. We want to believe in the FBI and the United States Justice Department and love and respect them for what they do. We want lawmakers that represent the good of the people and not themselves.

Alas all of humankind is fallen. Sadly, it is not limited to government. It is no different than business, schools, media, arts and entertainment, churches and even families. Corruption exists in every segment of our culture. This is not to say that good is non-existent; it is to say that evil coexists, and at times seems to gain the upper hand.

When I ended my business career to pursue fulltime service for the Lord in founding the Jesus Alliance, I naively thought those who were involved in fulltime ministry were different than those in business. I believed that they truly wanted to serve the Lord and not themselves. Sadly, rather quickly I came away disillusioned when I discovered that many are just like others in society, meaning its more about serving themselves than Jesus.

In business I always meticulously checked every reference of potential candidates for employment, conducted criminal background checks and everyone had to take a drug test. When I first entered the ministry, I was a trusting soul. I mean who would think someone applying for work in fulltime ministry would lie about their resume, or similar activity? I believed them, considered it to be a “God thing” and hired people on the spot.

Ugh! Hard lesson after hard lesson taught me to go back to my roots of being a hard-nosed-no-nonsense CEO.

I for one, look forward to experiencing life under the rule of Jesus Christ. Just think no more corruption, greedy self-servers, liars, power mongers, egoists, money worshippers, sexual deviants, thieves, murderers, war-makers, and sickos. Just sweet truth, kindness, unadulterated love, wholesome activity and pure thoughts. There will be no tears in heaven.

I look forward to that day when Jesus returns in the sky to beam me up along with all who have trusted in His Holy Name. His rule will be glorious and will never end!

Oh yeah!

Matt. 24:30

They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other . . .

So, the government has been shut down, this time by Democrats. In fact, it has been coined the “Schumer shutdown,” named for minority Democrat leader of the Senate Chuck Schumer. It’s ridiculous. The bottom line is that nothing in the bill offends Democrats. They won’t vote in favor of it because they want to ram through a complex immigration issue and tack it on to a budget bill. They’ve sided with illegal immigrants over American citizens like those in the military who will not receive paychecks until this is resolved, and ignored very serious issues such as stopping passage of children’s health insurance for the next five years, (C.H.I.P.)

Each side is blaming the other, but anyone with any intelligence can do the math. There are 51 Republicans and it requires a 60-vote margin to pass, and without at least a dozen Democrats voting for it, the shutdown will remain.

The fallout is not confined just to damaging our military and ending government services, these bozos are making us look like bungling idiots all over the world; even Communist China and the dictatorship of Russia have been making fun of our form of government.

Why all the fuss? Because Trump wants to build a border wall, end chain migration, and do away with the idiotic lottery for those entering this country for no legitimate reason.

Just knowing that Mexico, had a barbaric 25,339 murders in 2017 would indicate to most any quasi-intelligent person that, just maybe, we should keep these uninvited folks out of our country. Drugs, sex traffickers and even terrorists from the middle east cross our porous border with impunity. We need to work hard to stop it in its tracks and a border wall is a good first step.

Do you think?

No, I’m not xenophobic nor a racist, and I’m not being unchristian. Why would the Jews build a wall around Jerusalem? Was it to force Jews to stay within its confines? Or was it to keep out those who would destroy them and their way of life?

Does anyone really want a murder rate in America like Mexico’s or Somalia, or Syria? I mean Baltimore, Chicago, L.A., Detroit, and other American cities led by progressive liberal Democrats are bad enough already.

It is common sense to defend our borders and only allow those in who love this country, have skills, and want to learn our language and assimilate as productive peaceful members of our society.

Like it or not, there are people who want to come here to destroy our Judeo-Christian way of life. This country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and the Lord has blessed the United States as no other country, save Israel, when it followed the Lord. Extremists from all over the world hate our freedom, especially our freedom of religion, and they want to destroy us. We must have security.

The Democrats milk the DACA issue with intensity. These are primarily Mexican immigrants that entered this country illegally, but were brought here by their parents. Congress, not Trump, should decide their fate. Obama arbitrarily protected them with an illegal decree with one stroke of his pen. Trump merely rescinded it to force Congress to deal with the overall problem with legislation in a proper way.

Yet as usual they have hidden that from the general public and portrayed him as a racist who hates little kids. The real goal is POWER. They want to secure the Hispanic vote for the Democrats.

Such a farce.

The well-orchestrated efforts of MoveOn.org, mainstream media, liberal elites, RINOs, social media tycoons are banded together again and are waging all-out war against America, but Trump is staying strong.

Thank you Lord for giving us Trump and not Hillary and the progressive decline that she would have continued after Obama. We see the swamp draining, the economy improving, jobs created, security improving, welfare declining, more women, blacks, and Hispanics employed at better paying jobs. Yeah, Trump is crazy all right – Crazy like a Fox…

Like him, his past, and his tweets or not, he is becoming a true warrior for the Kingdom. Look at his court recommendations including the Supreme Court, and go online and see him as the first President ever to attend a pro-life rally and give a speech defending the rights of innocent babies. I say bravo Mr. President!

Isaiah 49:25

“Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?”